Application state data is data used to record the running status of a computer application. One example of application state data is a game save for a game application. A game save is a piece of digitally stored information related to the progress of a user operating the game application. The game save can be reloaded later so that the user can continue where he stopped. The user instructs the game application to generate a game save (i.e., save the game) to prevent the loss of progress in the game, especially when he is interrupted or is ending a game session.
Sharing and backing up game saves among users has been common for many years. Originally, users could help each other unlock features in a game application by swapping memory cards with game saves. With the growing popularity of the Internet, users started to upload their game saves from their devices to Internet servers. By downloading a game save from an Internet server, a user can continue the progress of the game on the device on which he played the game or on another device, such as a computer, game console, or smart phone. However, to achieve the goal of continuing the progress on another device, the user deliberately needs to instruct the device to save the game progress (i.e., game save) and upload the game save to a server or a memory card. Then the user must download the game from the server or the memory card to the other device and, finally, instruct the other device to load the game save. This process is tedious and requires many user interventions. Furthermore, this process only works for game applications that are specifically designed with game saving functionalities.